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Dalziel & Pascoe #4
An April Shroud
While Pascoe is away on his honeymoon, Dalziel takes a vacation that leaves him stranded at a bizarre country manor inhabited by murder and a most unusual group of suspects
254 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1975
288 people are currently reading
479 people want to read
About the author
Reginald Hill
154 books504 followersReginald Charles Hill was a contemporary English crime writer, and the winner in 1995 of the Crime Writers' Association Cartier Diamond Dagger for Lifetime Achievement.
After National Service (1955-57) and studying English at St Catherine's College, Oxford University (1957-60) he worked as a teacher for many years, rising to Senior Lecturer at Doncaster College of Education. In 1980 he retired from salaried work in order to devote himself full-time to writing.
Hill is best known for his more than 20 novels featuring the Yorkshire detectives Andrew Dalziel, Peter Pascoe and Edgar Wield. He has also written more than 30 other novels, including five featuring Joe Sixsmith, a black machine operator turned private detective in a fictional Luton. Novels originally published under the pseudonyms of Patrick Ruell, Dick Morland, and Charles Underhill have now appeared under his own name. Hill is also a writer of short stories, and ghost tales.
After National Service (1955-57) and studying English at St Catherine's College, Oxford University (1957-60) he worked as a teacher for many years, rising to Senior Lecturer at Doncaster College of Education. In 1980 he retired from salaried work in order to devote himself full-time to writing.
Hill is best known for his more than 20 novels featuring the Yorkshire detectives Andrew Dalziel, Peter Pascoe and Edgar Wield. He has also written more than 30 other novels, including five featuring Joe Sixsmith, a black machine operator turned private detective in a fictional Luton. Novels originally published under the pseudonyms of Patrick Ruell, Dick Morland, and Charles Underhill have now appeared under his own name. Hill is also a writer of short stories, and ghost tales.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 123 reviews
September 11, 2018
In which Dalziel becomes human...
Following newly-minted-Inspector Peter Pascoe’s wedding to Elly Soper, Detective Superintendent Andy Dalziel sets off on a little holiday. His plan is to drive around the countryside hoping to find enough of interest to keep him occupied, but in reality he’s feeling a little lost and even lonely. Peter’s wedding has brought home to him his own lack of family, and he’s reached as high as he’s likely to go in his career. But his plans are put on hold when April showers turn into a veritable flood and his car becomes waterlogged. Rescued by a family returning from a funeral, he goes with them to their home, Lake House, to dry off and phone a garage. But the combination of an intriguing death in the family and the friendly charms of the remarkably cheerful widow persuade him to prolong his visit...
One of the things that always kept this series fresh was that Hill regularly changed the focus among the various characters. In this one, Andy gets his first solo outing. Peter makes token appearances at the beginning and end but plays no real part in the story. This gives Hill the chance to let the reader get to know Andy from the inside – prior to this we’d really always seen him through someone else’s eyes, usually Peter’s.
Although I grew very fond of all the major characters – Pascoe, Elly, Wieldy, Novello – Dalziel was always the one I enjoyed most. He’s such an intriguing mix of brash, uncouth Yorkshireman – a big, loud, crude, bullying brute of a man – and well-hidden sensitivity: a man who might use blatantly offensive homophobic terms, but will defend his gay colleagues at a time when that was highly unusual; who can be hideously sexist in the language he uses to women, but who respects their intelligence and strength far more than many of his politically correct colleagues; who is no respecter of class, but who uses his own mostly artificial veneer of uncultured boorishness as a blunt weapon to dominate any company he’s in, from the rugby club to the manor house.
This is the book where we really begin to see him as more than a caricature. As he finds himself drawn towards the widow, Bonnie, he gets sucked into a moral quagmire largely of his own making. The police have investigated the death of Conrad Fielding and have reluctantly concluded it was an accident, despite the fact that the insurance claim on his death will come in very handy for the rest of the household. Lake House is costly to live in and too run-down to let, so the family have come up with a scheme to convert part of it into a mock-Medieval Banqueting Hall. But funding has run out and bankruptcy looms unless the insurance money comes through in time for them to finish the work on the place before the scheduled opening in a couple of weeks’ time. As Andy gets to know the family better, he has to decide whether to share what he learns about them with the local police or keep his suspicions to himself. It’s not as if he knows anything for sure...
Hill also has fun with the characters in the house, from the elderly poet Hereward, about to be given an award he feels he should have been given years ago when young enough to enjoy it, to the budding film-maker who augments his income by taking the kind of girlie photos that show up in the less respectable kind of magazine, to the Woosterish young man who wants nothing more than to punt on the lake, shooting ducks. The widow herself is a typically wonderful Hill woman – strong, intelligent, generous, quite possibly wicked, definitely ambiguous. A Yorkshire femme fatale. Is she attracted to Andy for his innate charm and manly physique? Even Andy is doubtful about that. Or is she using him as protection from the interest of the local police?
The mystery itself becomes more complicated when more bodies begin to show up in unexpected places. Accidents? Murders? Connected or coincidental? Andy will eventually work it all out, but then he’ll still have to decide what to do about it. And meantime, the inaugural Medieval Banquet grows ever closer...
Lots of humour as always, but in this one Hill gives us the first real indication of how the series will develop in terms of depth of characterisation and the complicated relationship between our two main players, Dalziel and Pascoe. And in this one, for the first time, we begin to see that Andy is human too, with all the vulnerabilities and sensitivities he so successfully hides from the world. As always, highly recommended – the best detective series of all time!
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
Following newly-minted-Inspector Peter Pascoe’s wedding to Elly Soper, Detective Superintendent Andy Dalziel sets off on a little holiday. His plan is to drive around the countryside hoping to find enough of interest to keep him occupied, but in reality he’s feeling a little lost and even lonely. Peter’s wedding has brought home to him his own lack of family, and he’s reached as high as he’s likely to go in his career. But his plans are put on hold when April showers turn into a veritable flood and his car becomes waterlogged. Rescued by a family returning from a funeral, he goes with them to their home, Lake House, to dry off and phone a garage. But the combination of an intriguing death in the family and the friendly charms of the remarkably cheerful widow persuade him to prolong his visit...
One of the things that always kept this series fresh was that Hill regularly changed the focus among the various characters. In this one, Andy gets his first solo outing. Peter makes token appearances at the beginning and end but plays no real part in the story. This gives Hill the chance to let the reader get to know Andy from the inside – prior to this we’d really always seen him through someone else’s eyes, usually Peter’s.
Although I grew very fond of all the major characters – Pascoe, Elly, Wieldy, Novello – Dalziel was always the one I enjoyed most. He’s such an intriguing mix of brash, uncouth Yorkshireman – a big, loud, crude, bullying brute of a man – and well-hidden sensitivity: a man who might use blatantly offensive homophobic terms, but will defend his gay colleagues at a time when that was highly unusual; who can be hideously sexist in the language he uses to women, but who respects their intelligence and strength far more than many of his politically correct colleagues; who is no respecter of class, but who uses his own mostly artificial veneer of uncultured boorishness as a blunt weapon to dominate any company he’s in, from the rugby club to the manor house.
This is the book where we really begin to see him as more than a caricature. As he finds himself drawn towards the widow, Bonnie, he gets sucked into a moral quagmire largely of his own making. The police have investigated the death of Conrad Fielding and have reluctantly concluded it was an accident, despite the fact that the insurance claim on his death will come in very handy for the rest of the household. Lake House is costly to live in and too run-down to let, so the family have come up with a scheme to convert part of it into a mock-Medieval Banqueting Hall. But funding has run out and bankruptcy looms unless the insurance money comes through in time for them to finish the work on the place before the scheduled opening in a couple of weeks’ time. As Andy gets to know the family better, he has to decide whether to share what he learns about them with the local police or keep his suspicions to himself. It’s not as if he knows anything for sure...
Hill also has fun with the characters in the house, from the elderly poet Hereward, about to be given an award he feels he should have been given years ago when young enough to enjoy it, to the budding film-maker who augments his income by taking the kind of girlie photos that show up in the less respectable kind of magazine, to the Woosterish young man who wants nothing more than to punt on the lake, shooting ducks. The widow herself is a typically wonderful Hill woman – strong, intelligent, generous, quite possibly wicked, definitely ambiguous. A Yorkshire femme fatale. Is she attracted to Andy for his innate charm and manly physique? Even Andy is doubtful about that. Or is she using him as protection from the interest of the local police?
The mystery itself becomes more complicated when more bodies begin to show up in unexpected places. Accidents? Murders? Connected or coincidental? Andy will eventually work it all out, but then he’ll still have to decide what to do about it. And meantime, the inaugural Medieval Banquet grows ever closer...
Lots of humour as always, but in this one Hill gives us the first real indication of how the series will develop in terms of depth of characterisation and the complicated relationship between our two main players, Dalziel and Pascoe. And in this one, for the first time, we begin to see that Andy is human too, with all the vulnerabilities and sensitivities he so successfully hides from the world. As always, highly recommended – the best detective series of all time!
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
August 17, 2022
Dalziel in Love
Review of the Grafton Books paperback edition (1987) of the Collins Crime Club hardcover original (1975)
Dalziel is at loose ends and takes his own first vacation in many years. Stuck in the middle of a torrential rain and flood his car breaks down and he is forced to take refuge with an eccentric family who have recently suffered the accidental death of their head of household. Dalziel is immediately attracted to the widow, who suspiciously is not averse to his attentions. All is not as it seems though, as the family is juggling with the investment of a feasting / banquet hall, attempting to collect insurance claims and a suspicious runaway son. Then more disappearances and deaths occur. Will Dalziel puzzle it all out on his own or will Pascoe have to come to the rescue in the end?
Although the case eventually turns serious, An April Shroud takes a lighter tone for the most part with its observance of Dalziel among the civilians where he is more restrained about his otherwise regular public belching and scratching. It had the additional revelation about Dalziel's reading habits which were unveiled as:
Cover image of the 1975 Collins Crime Club hardcover edition. Image sourced from Wikipedia.
I re-read An April Shroud due to a recent discovery of my old mystery paperbacks from the 1980s in a storage locker cleanout. I was especially curious about the precedents for Mick Herron's Jackson Lamb in the Slough House espionage series in the personality of Reginald Hill's Chief Inspector Andy Dalziel, which Herron has acknowledged.
Book haul of the early Dalziel and Pascoe paperbacks, mostly from Grafton Books in the 1980s. Image sourced from Twitter.
Trivia and No Link
An April Shroud was adapted for the long running TV series of Dalziel and Pascoe (1996-2007) as Episode 3 of Series 1 where it was renamed as An Autumn Shroud (1996). I could not find an online trailer or posting of the episode.
Review of the Grafton Books paperback edition (1987) of the Collins Crime Club hardcover original (1975)
De'il and Dalziel begin with one letterThis fourth in the Dalziel (pronounced Dee-Ell) and Pascoe series is almost a solo venture for the Detective Chief Superintendent as he sends his colleague Pascoe off on his honeymoon with writer Ellie Soper (who was introduced in 1971's book #2 An Advancement of Learning) at the start of the novel.
The de'il's nae guid and Dalziel's nae better.
- Old Galloway Saying used as an epigraph for An April Shroud
Dalziel is at loose ends and takes his own first vacation in many years. Stuck in the middle of a torrential rain and flood his car breaks down and he is forced to take refuge with an eccentric family who have recently suffered the accidental death of their head of household. Dalziel is immediately attracted to the widow, who suspiciously is not averse to his attentions. All is not as it seems though, as the family is juggling with the investment of a feasting / banquet hall, attempting to collect insurance claims and a suspicious runaway son. Then more disappearances and deaths occur. Will Dalziel puzzle it all out on his own or will Pascoe have to come to the rescue in the end?
Although the case eventually turns serious, An April Shroud takes a lighter tone for the most part with its observance of Dalziel among the civilians where he is more restrained about his otherwise regular public belching and scratching. It had the additional revelation about Dalziel's reading habits which were unveiled as:
Meanwhile, as he had done for many years now, he set about postponing the moment of switching off his bedroom light until he was on the very brink of sleep. He poured himself a carefully measured dose of scotch and put it on the bedside table. Next, clad in pyjamas suitable in pattern and size for the fitting of three or four deckchairs, he climbed into bed, placed his reading spectacles gingerly on his still throbbing nose and picked up his book. It was Bulwer Lytton's The Last Days of Pompeii, which he had stolen from the hotel where he spent his honeymoon and had been reading and re-reading off and on now for thirty years.
Cover image of the 1975 Collins Crime Club hardcover edition. Image sourced from Wikipedia.
I re-read An April Shroud due to a recent discovery of my old mystery paperbacks from the 1980s in a storage locker cleanout. I was especially curious about the precedents for Mick Herron's Jackson Lamb in the Slough House espionage series in the personality of Reginald Hill's Chief Inspector Andy Dalziel, which Herron has acknowledged.
Book haul of the early Dalziel and Pascoe paperbacks, mostly from Grafton Books in the 1980s. Image sourced from Twitter.
Trivia and No Link
An April Shroud was adapted for the long running TV series of Dalziel and Pascoe (1996-2007) as Episode 3 of Series 1 where it was renamed as An Autumn Shroud (1996). I could not find an online trailer or posting of the episode.
December 13, 2020
Although all of the Dalziel and Pascoe books have been well-written in this series, this one stands out to me because it is so different from the formula of the first three. In An April Shroud, the plot is almost exclusively centered on crusty Andrew Dalziel.
The Detective Superintendent has taken his first holiday from the job in many years, coincidentally or not, coinciding with Peter Pascoe's honeymoon. Dalziel has no enthusiasm for a holiday but decides to at least drive around the countryside to see if anything holds any interest for him. If not, he'll just return to the job.
What ensues is a thoroughly interesting and out-of-character escapade for a man who no longer has much passion for anything in his life beyond policing. There is misdirection, interesting characters, a family who are not (or are they?) what they seem, a romance and, of course, a suspicious death or two.
Reginald Hill has added a new dimension to his crusty and curmudgeonly detective. A delightful read.
The Detective Superintendent has taken his first holiday from the job in many years, coincidentally or not, coinciding with Peter Pascoe's honeymoon. Dalziel has no enthusiasm for a holiday but decides to at least drive around the countryside to see if anything holds any interest for him. If not, he'll just return to the job.
What ensues is a thoroughly interesting and out-of-character escapade for a man who no longer has much passion for anything in his life beyond policing. There is misdirection, interesting characters, a family who are not (or are they?) what they seem, a romance and, of course, a suspicious death or two.
Reginald Hill has added a new dimension to his crusty and curmudgeonly detective. A delightful read.
October 5, 2023
Hill is indeed a master storyteller of this kind of well-placed, witty, big-hearted-though-also-curiously-empty-almost-amoral-but-not, complex, clever and slightly rude murder mysteries.
In the flooded world, a femme fatale… and by a weird coincidence I read it wrapped around the watching of the 2021 film Reminiscence … and Dalziel finds himself in a very odd place surrounded by a very odd collection of people, mostly in an extended household. A faux medieval banquet is a comin’, too, obviously. Hill is nothing if not audacious, potentially with any aspect of his craft. Superb final twists within twists!
(A star knocked off for the unnecessary focus on the male gaze and the ranking of women by physical attractiveness. Ok, so this was written in 1975 and we are meant to enter in to Dalziel with all his flaws and blunt crassness — but it seems to me that Hill is a bit too happy to do that.)
In the flooded world, a femme fatale… and by a weird coincidence I read it wrapped around the watching of the 2021 film Reminiscence … and Dalziel finds himself in a very odd place surrounded by a very odd collection of people, mostly in an extended household. A faux medieval banquet is a comin’, too, obviously. Hill is nothing if not audacious, potentially with any aspect of his craft. Superb final twists within twists!
(A star knocked off for the unnecessary focus on the male gaze and the ranking of women by physical attractiveness. Ok, so this was written in 1975 and we are meant to enter in to Dalziel with all his flaws and blunt crassness — but it seems to me that Hill is a bit too happy to do that.)
June 21, 2022
In my second reading of An April Shroud, I had a greater appreciation for the story than I did in my first reading. Author Reginald Hill's protagonist, Andrew Dalziel, kept me smiling most of the time and outright laughing at others.
This is no comedy, but it definitely has its comedic turns as Chief Superintendent Dalziel goes on holiday for the first time in years. Unwillingly and unwittingly initially, he becomes embroiled in a family squabble that has underlying ramifications of crime.
Although Pascoe makes an appearance both at the beginning and end of the story, this book is about Andrew Dalziel. What makes it remarkable is the reader gets to see sides of the man not visible in his work life.
This is no comedy, but it definitely has its comedic turns as Chief Superintendent Dalziel goes on holiday for the first time in years. Unwillingly and unwittingly initially, he becomes embroiled in a family squabble that has underlying ramifications of crime.
Although Pascoe makes an appearance both at the beginning and end of the story, this book is about Andrew Dalziel. What makes it remarkable is the reader gets to see sides of the man not visible in his work life.
July 8, 2009
Best opening scene ever.
June 17, 2024
This book was delightful, a murder mystery with humor and surprises! It reminded me a little of Cold Comfort Farm. I am enjoying reading the Dalziel & Pascoe series.
May 20, 2011
One of the reasons I love this series so much is for sentences like these: "He had always been a liver in the present, never one of those who tried to take a golden moment and beat it out thinly to cover more ground. But just as his mind in the past months had gradually started to plague him with visions of vacant futurity, so in these last few days, unbidden and almost undetected, an insidious optimism had begun to rise in his subconscious like curls of mist on the lake."
February 5, 2017
So-so. Perhaps I've had too many Brit detective pairings or perhaps it's just this volume, but I couldn't quite warm to it. After dominating the last one, newly married Pascoe is now missing for most of the story. So it's just Dalziel scratching away at one body part or another (his own) and dealing with about a dozen new characters whom I had a hard time telling apart and whose names and back stories I didn't really care about.
The next one will decide whether I'll continue with this series.
The next one will decide whether I'll continue with this series.
June 17, 2020
This was the fourth in what became an amazing series of books about Detective Inspector Peter Pascoe and his outrageous superintendent, Andrew Dalziel (known behind his back as Fat Andy). They are surely one of the most brilliant pairs of sleuths ever devised, and I never get tired of reading about them.
This one takes us all the way back to the wedding of Peter and Ellie, whose honeymoon coincides with an enforced holiday by Fat Andy. In no short order, he gets embroiled in a mystery--a good thing since he has absolutely no idea how to take a vacation.
This outing features the usual bizarre set of characters in a dilapidated country house; in desperation, they hope to repair their fortunes by staging Medieval Banquets. Andy arrives during the funeral for the father, who has apparently fallen from a ladder and impaled himself on an electric drill. I thought I'd read every possible variation on possible murder weapons, but this was a new one to me.
I have to include at least one quote fleshing out Dalziel's character: "His attitude to physical clues was rather like that of the modern Christian to miracles. They could happen, but probably not just at the moment."
This one takes us all the way back to the wedding of Peter and Ellie, whose honeymoon coincides with an enforced holiday by Fat Andy. In no short order, he gets embroiled in a mystery--a good thing since he has absolutely no idea how to take a vacation.
This outing features the usual bizarre set of characters in a dilapidated country house; in desperation, they hope to repair their fortunes by staging Medieval Banquets. Andy arrives during the funeral for the father, who has apparently fallen from a ladder and impaled himself on an electric drill. I thought I'd read every possible variation on possible murder weapons, but this was a new one to me.
I have to include at least one quote fleshing out Dalziel's character: "His attitude to physical clues was rather like that of the modern Christian to miracles. They could happen, but probably not just at the moment."
April 28, 2012
What a clever man Mr Hill was; he is the master of the introduction and will always surprise you at the end.
October 25, 2025
Superintendent Andrew Dalziel has seen his right-hand man, Inspector Peter Pascoe, happily married and off on his honeymoon. Dalziel is off himself on a vacation--a rarity for the superintendent. He has no definite plans, just aims to drive off and see where it takes him. The mild rain that started with the ceremony soon turns into full-blown showers...and eventually into floods. Dalziel finds himself stranded near a small river and rescued by a floating funeral procession. The family of the deceased man take him to their home, Lake House, until things dry up enough to rescue his car.
There are a number of odd things at Lake House: a "medieval" restaurant--not quite fully constructed; a frozen rat in the freezer; the lovely mistress of the house who has now lost two husbands to death under mysterious circumstances--the latest (and subject of the funeral procession) stabbed by a drill to the heart; anonymous phone calls; insurance fraud; and a general air of secrecy and deception about the place. Two more deaths put Dalziel's detective skills to the test, but he won't figure things out until the restaurant has opened and Pascoe returns from his honeymoon.
Reginald Hill is another author with whom I have an on-again, off-again relationship. We're more off than on for this outing. Blurbs I've read here and there indicate that this is supposed to be filled with humor. I just don't see it. There's vulgarity and sex for the sake of vulgarity and sex (as far as I can tell). There's rather inexplicable conversations between Dalziel and the inhabitants of Lake House. There's a mystery that Dalziel doesn't really seem to want to solve and when he does, he doesn't give the local law enforcement the full story. It's a pretty unsatisfactory book all 'round. But, hey, it's got a near four-star rating on Goodreads and other bloggers seem to have enjoyed it more than I did--so your mileage may vary. ★★
Side-note on the title: Unless I missed it, we're not told explicitly (other than on the book's flap), but I'm guessing that all the action happens in April. Otherwise there's no reason for the title except it gives Hill the chance to quote John Keats:
...the melancholy fit shall fall
Sudden from heaven like a weeping cloud
That fosters the droop-headed flowers all
And hides the green hill in an April shroud
Honestly, I just figure he had a burning desire to use that quote because I don't really see a connection to the plot at all.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block
There are a number of odd things at Lake House: a "medieval" restaurant--not quite fully constructed; a frozen rat in the freezer; the lovely mistress of the house who has now lost two husbands to death under mysterious circumstances--the latest (and subject of the funeral procession) stabbed by a drill to the heart; anonymous phone calls; insurance fraud; and a general air of secrecy and deception about the place. Two more deaths put Dalziel's detective skills to the test, but he won't figure things out until the restaurant has opened and Pascoe returns from his honeymoon.
Reginald Hill is another author with whom I have an on-again, off-again relationship. We're more off than on for this outing. Blurbs I've read here and there indicate that this is supposed to be filled with humor. I just don't see it. There's vulgarity and sex for the sake of vulgarity and sex (as far as I can tell). There's rather inexplicable conversations between Dalziel and the inhabitants of Lake House. There's a mystery that Dalziel doesn't really seem to want to solve and when he does, he doesn't give the local law enforcement the full story. It's a pretty unsatisfactory book all 'round. But, hey, it's got a near four-star rating on Goodreads and other bloggers seem to have enjoyed it more than I did--so your mileage may vary. ★★
Side-note on the title: Unless I missed it, we're not told explicitly (other than on the book's flap), but I'm guessing that all the action happens in April. Otherwise there's no reason for the title except it gives Hill the chance to quote John Keats:
...the melancholy fit shall fall
Sudden from heaven like a weeping cloud
That fosters the droop-headed flowers all
And hides the green hill in an April shroud
Honestly, I just figure he had a burning desire to use that quote because I don't really see a connection to the plot at all.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block
January 29, 2010
First Sentence: No one knew how it came about the Dalziel was making a speech.
With Pascoe off on his honeymoon, Dalziel (Dee-Ell) is taking a holiday of his own. Things quickly go awry when his car is swamped in a flooding road. He is rescued by a group of rather happy mourners and taken to a decrepit mansion to dry off. More seems wrong than just the state of the abode; there’s a preserved rat in the freezer and the very appealing mistress of the manner twice widowed in suspicious circumstances.
When bodies become a fact of the present, rather than the past, Dalziel isn’t leaving until the murderer is found.
It was nice to see Dalziel on his own for most of this book. He is fat, crass, rude, politically incorrect and altogether repulsive. And he’s wonderful. He is the type of character you’d rather not know, or even be around, but you can’t help but like him and would always want him on your side. Aside from Pascoe, who is absent from most of this book, none of the characters are appealing.
In addition to Hill creating a very vivid cast of characters is the writing. Hill is an amazing author. He lovingly created a masterful and complex plot, with plenty of twists and an element of suspense. It was a wonderful version of the “country manor” mystery.
Hill's descriptions and dialogue with delightful sharp humor kept me engaged from first page to last. He truly demonstrated that one can tell a complete, compelling story in 187 pages (in my edition).
I am having a delightful time working my way through this series. I highly recommend Dalziel and Pascoe to all.
AN APRIL SHROUD (Pol. Proc-Dalziel and Pascoe-England-Cont) – VG+
Hill, Reginald – 4th in series
Foul Play Press, 1975, US Hardcopy
With Pascoe off on his honeymoon, Dalziel (Dee-Ell) is taking a holiday of his own. Things quickly go awry when his car is swamped in a flooding road. He is rescued by a group of rather happy mourners and taken to a decrepit mansion to dry off. More seems wrong than just the state of the abode; there’s a preserved rat in the freezer and the very appealing mistress of the manner twice widowed in suspicious circumstances.
When bodies become a fact of the present, rather than the past, Dalziel isn’t leaving until the murderer is found.
It was nice to see Dalziel on his own for most of this book. He is fat, crass, rude, politically incorrect and altogether repulsive. And he’s wonderful. He is the type of character you’d rather not know, or even be around, but you can’t help but like him and would always want him on your side. Aside from Pascoe, who is absent from most of this book, none of the characters are appealing.
In addition to Hill creating a very vivid cast of characters is the writing. Hill is an amazing author. He lovingly created a masterful and complex plot, with plenty of twists and an element of suspense. It was a wonderful version of the “country manor” mystery.
Hill's descriptions and dialogue with delightful sharp humor kept me engaged from first page to last. He truly demonstrated that one can tell a complete, compelling story in 187 pages (in my edition).
I am having a delightful time working my way through this series. I highly recommend Dalziel and Pascoe to all.
AN APRIL SHROUD (Pol. Proc-Dalziel and Pascoe-England-Cont) – VG+
Hill, Reginald – 4th in series
Foul Play Press, 1975, US Hardcopy
April 10, 2012
Ironically, the TV series featuring Dalziel and Pascoe retitled this book “Autumn Shroud.” I hate it when they do that. I’m a huge fan of the Dalziel and Pascoe novels.
Following Pascoe’s wedding to Ellie, Andy is off on a two-week holiday but he has no idea what to do with himself other than drive around and when his car breaks down he finds himself intrigued by a family burying a father and husband in a singularly emotionless fashion. In his inimitable way, he insinuates himself into their house, not to mention the widow, and discovers a nice little mystery on which to work his magic. Pascoe hardly makes an appearance in this novel, so Andy’s personal foibles and detective talents are showcased.
In one scene, so unlike the protagonist hero-worship of most novels, Dalziel and Bonnie go to bed together and it’s really quite a funny scene, with Bonnie almost making fun of him. Then again, as he notes, his idea of foreplay, when he was married, was a six-pack.
First rate Hill novel. Very ably read by Colin Buchanan who plays Pascoe in the TV series.
Following Pascoe’s wedding to Ellie, Andy is off on a two-week holiday but he has no idea what to do with himself other than drive around and when his car breaks down he finds himself intrigued by a family burying a father and husband in a singularly emotionless fashion. In his inimitable way, he insinuates himself into their house, not to mention the widow, and discovers a nice little mystery on which to work his magic. Pascoe hardly makes an appearance in this novel, so Andy’s personal foibles and detective talents are showcased.
In one scene, so unlike the protagonist hero-worship of most novels, Dalziel and Bonnie go to bed together and it’s really quite a funny scene, with Bonnie almost making fun of him. Then again, as he notes, his idea of foreplay, when he was married, was a six-pack.
First rate Hill novel. Very ably read by Colin Buchanan who plays Pascoe in the TV series.
January 17, 2010
After Pascoe and Ellie getting center stage in Ruling Passion, it's only fair that Dalziel gets a book to himself, although I was a bit dubious about a solo Dalziel novel. It actually works much better than I would have expected, with Dalziel going on holiday in horrible weather, getting stranded in a big house in the country with a family called the Fieldings, and quickly discovering that there's a mystery to be solved. Multiple mysteries, in fact.
Though Dalziel works remarkably well as a solo protagonist, I still don't think this will rank as one of my favorites in this series. The story was plenty entertaining, but there were so many odd and unpleasant characters among the Fieldings and their friends, and so many little intrigues and deceptions, that the final unravelling felt a bit anticlimactic. On the other hand, we get Dalziel in a giant floppy green velvet hat.
Though Dalziel works remarkably well as a solo protagonist, I still don't think this will rank as one of my favorites in this series. The story was plenty entertaining, but there were so many odd and unpleasant characters among the Fieldings and their friends, and so many little intrigues and deceptions, that the final unravelling felt a bit anticlimactic. On the other hand, we get Dalziel in a giant floppy green velvet hat.
March 3, 2020
I read this book a long time ago but really couldn’t remember the plot. This time I listened on audiobook and it was such a treat. I’d forgotten how rich the language used bury Reginald Hill can be. The audio version was read by Colin Buchanan who played Peter Pasco (one of the main characters) in the TV series Dalziel & Pasco based on .hill’s novels.
An April Shroud is early in the series of books (4) and Superintendent Andy Dalziel is taking his first holiday for many years while Pasco is on his honeymoon. Let’s just say things don’t go to plan and Dalziel gets embroiled in a family whose fortunes are on the slide.
I laughed out loud on several occasions while listening to this book and I plan to re-read more Reginald Hill.
An April Shroud is early in the series of books (4) and Superintendent Andy Dalziel is taking his first holiday for many years while Pasco is on his honeymoon. Let’s just say things don’t go to plan and Dalziel gets embroiled in a family whose fortunes are on the slide.
I laughed out loud on several occasions while listening to this book and I plan to re-read more Reginald Hill.
November 5, 2024
This book has hidden depths. Or half hidden when you’re concentrating first time around on plot developments.
Dalziel is alone for most of the book, having decided to take a rare vacation after attending Pascoe’s wedding outside Yorkshire . After his car breaks down and while waiting for repairs, he chances to meet and is hosted by a family and friends who have just buried the father. Many “accidents” and possible criminal acts ensue.
But the underlying thread is a combination of Dalziel’s self doubt and melancholy. See, for example, Keats’ Ode on Melancholy, from which Hill gets his title.
The handling of Dalziel’s emotional journey is interesting in itself and - like a couple other books that feature Pascoe on his own - shows us that Hill's main characters can each carry a novel on his own.
Dalziel is alone for most of the book, having decided to take a rare vacation after attending Pascoe’s wedding outside Yorkshire . After his car breaks down and while waiting for repairs, he chances to meet and is hosted by a family and friends who have just buried the father. Many “accidents” and possible criminal acts ensue.
But the underlying thread is a combination of Dalziel’s self doubt and melancholy. See, for example, Keats’ Ode on Melancholy, from which Hill gets his title.
The handling of Dalziel’s emotional journey is interesting in itself and - like a couple other books that feature Pascoe on his own - shows us that Hill's main characters can each carry a novel on his own.
July 27, 2019
Dalzeil at his most bumptious, on his own and surrounded by water and eccentric characters in a perfect parody of the 'English country house mystery. So fun...
but I've come to realize one thing about Mr. Hill...he felt free to pop back and forth in the chronology of his world so I have given up any attempt at reading the books in order! Really doesn't matter. Unlike Louise Penny's crime novels where the plot is heavily influenced by the novel that came before and while building on the past gives away quite a lot of the circumstances, Hill's novels mention things but you can enjoy the story without fear of spoiling a future read of the previous! Back and forth we go!
but I've come to realize one thing about Mr. Hill...he felt free to pop back and forth in the chronology of his world so I have given up any attempt at reading the books in order! Really doesn't matter. Unlike Louise Penny's crime novels where the plot is heavily influenced by the novel that came before and while building on the past gives away quite a lot of the circumstances, Hill's novels mention things but you can enjoy the story without fear of spoiling a future read of the previous! Back and forth we go!
February 16, 2021
Master of the art. Be prepared-- Hill's stories don't follow the usual murder mystery formula. Full of wonderful characters and believable relationships, this story--told very much with British tongue in cheek-- does not wrap the solution to the mystery up in a neat little bow. On the contrary....
December 30, 2023
4.5
Nice suspence and detective's life jokes.
Nice suspence and detective's life jokes.
October 19, 2014
Dalzeil attends Pascoe's (now Inspector) wedding to Ellie. He has taken 2 weeks leave and drives into Lincolnshire to be overtaken by flooding and marooned AT lAKE hOUSE WHERE THEY ARE JUST GOING BY PUNT TO BURY Mr Fielding. D finds that there is a scam going on regarding a fire insurance and the Mrs Bonnie Fielding may have been responsible for her husbands death. He had fallen off a ladder trying to do d-i-y in the banquetting hall. This was taken over by the sub plot of MrF and his son Nigel sleeping with the cook a prostitute from Liverpool. Nigel fights with her and she is killed. The old man of the house a poet is having a presentation and this is covered by BBC and Nigel and the old man load the body into Butt's car. He finds the body and dumps it in Epping Forest and leaves for Brazil where he has a heart attack and dies. Spink and insurance investigator falls into the lake and drowns. Apparently through stepping on rottens timber of the landing stage. The deaths of Mr Fielding (Conrad) and Spink and the possible involvement of Bonnie, who is now sleeping with Dalzeil) is not explained. All most unsatisfactory.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 15, 2020
Reginald Hill, a reliable delight.
When I'm in the mood for a mystery, and not ready to re-read Rendell and Sayers again, I treat myself to Hill's delicious prose and that overdone meat patty, Inspector Dalziel. Dalziel is raw, blunt, suspicious, non-introspective, and overbearing. This guy is not a sensitive poet, or thoughtful, or an aristocrat who collects books and solves mysteries in his spare time. This is a mean, greedy working stiff. In real life, this is the guy you hope is not actually on the police force.
But Hill knows just how to turn this unappealing pig into a main dish, and serves him up with just the right mix of comedy, exposition, and murderous tension. Hill's facility with language means that his descriptions alone are fun to read--something I can say of very few other writers.
This is a little offbeat from the series, in that Dalziel is featured far more centrally than his sidekick Pascoe. The plot is less the point than the setting, the motley cast of characters, and Dalziel's jaundiced view of human beings.
Fine to read by itself or as part of the series.
When I'm in the mood for a mystery, and not ready to re-read Rendell and Sayers again, I treat myself to Hill's delicious prose and that overdone meat patty, Inspector Dalziel. Dalziel is raw, blunt, suspicious, non-introspective, and overbearing. This guy is not a sensitive poet, or thoughtful, or an aristocrat who collects books and solves mysteries in his spare time. This is a mean, greedy working stiff. In real life, this is the guy you hope is not actually on the police force.
But Hill knows just how to turn this unappealing pig into a main dish, and serves him up with just the right mix of comedy, exposition, and murderous tension. Hill's facility with language means that his descriptions alone are fun to read--something I can say of very few other writers.
This is a little offbeat from the series, in that Dalziel is featured far more centrally than his sidekick Pascoe. The plot is less the point than the setting, the motley cast of characters, and Dalziel's jaundiced view of human beings.
Fine to read by itself or as part of the series.
August 19, 2014
Really funny at the outset, this Dalziel and Pascoe ( though mostly without Pascoe) has a ripper of a beginning, and keeps most of the entertainment going through the first half. However, it fell flat by the second half and I lost interest by the end. Hill writes so well, it's such a treat to find writing that is witty and funny and sharp. I'm not sure why I didn't enjoy the latter half though, maybe it's me - I do find so few novels of this genre that can last the distance. In this case I think there were simply too many characters, and I started to lose track of them. Dalziel is a treat though - his scratching and swearing and drinking (well maybe not his drinking) distinguish him from all the other English literary detectives - think the poet Dalgliesh, cultured Inspector Morse, and so on. Good reading value on the whole.
April 9, 2023
Luckily, Andy Daziel cuts short his toast at Ellie Soper's marriage to Peter Pascoe just as it threatens to get raunchy, and sets off on a much-dreaded vacation. Andy doesn't "do" vacations well; too much time to think. Without the job and with no companion, Andy is feeling sorry for himself. A measure of his expectation for the vacation is the fact that he takes with him The Last Days of Pompeii which he stole from a hotel room and which he's been reading - or at least carrying around - for 30 years.
Of course, it isn't long before he's swamped, both in a real flood, a wide array of zany characters and a few murders at a run down country estate, Lake House. The adventure is a wonderful, witty counter-point to - and parody of - the country manor mystery, Reginal Hill style.
Of course, it isn't long before he's swamped, both in a real flood, a wide array of zany characters and a few murders at a run down country estate, Lake House. The adventure is a wonderful, witty counter-point to - and parody of - the country manor mystery, Reginal Hill style.
February 4, 2022
This book will take you maybe 2 to 3 hours to read. Just letting you know how much time you'll waste on it, if you're the kind who says "Well, there's 2-3 hours of my life I'll never get back."
For those who think "Ooooh, Dalziel and Pascoe, Reginald Hill..... it's got to be good!" well, enjoy.
From the preposterous premise (the boat rescue, the invite to stay at the derelict mansion, the chemistry between a woman who buried her husband that day and a fat slob....) to the inevitable meant-to-be-hilarious ending sequence, this is nothing but fun, fun, fun.
Well, either that or: ludicrous premise, unbelievable plot, and embarrassing ending.
My recommendation: Skip this one.
For those who think "Ooooh, Dalziel and Pascoe, Reginald Hill..... it's got to be good!" well, enjoy.
From the preposterous premise (the boat rescue, the invite to stay at the derelict mansion, the chemistry between a woman who buried her husband that day and a fat slob....) to the inevitable meant-to-be-hilarious ending sequence, this is nothing but fun, fun, fun.
Well, either that or: ludicrous premise, unbelievable plot, and embarrassing ending.
My recommendation: Skip this one.
June 24, 2012
I've enjoyed a few of the TV episodes of Dalziel & Pascoe and thought I should try one of the books. An April Shroud was an entertaining English country house murder mystery. Dalziel finds himself on a forced vacation and stranded by flooded roads he is taken in by the unorthodox Fielding family. Murder, insurance scams, and shady business deals plus a little romance keeps you guessing til the very end.
July 30, 2016
Not my favorite book in the Dalziel and Pascoe mystery series, but it was okay. Pascoe was noticeably missing during most of the book, but again, he WAS on his honeymoon! Still, Dalziel was entertaining. The other characters were an interesting lot!
December 26, 2016
as a detective novel you are very much the observer at the overweight Andy Dalziel's bluff and sexist romp through this story. insurance claims, a restaurant which may or may not have had stuff stolen from it, a floating coffin and a duck gun feature, but it does leave one somewhat cold.
March 19, 2010
i dunno, maybe it's me, but I was bored with this one. Pasco gets married and isn't in it until the end. I felt the prose was flat, unusual for Hill.
December 14, 2020
It's tough anywhere in literature to find 2 detectives more strangely paired than Andy Dalziel and Peter Pascoe. Peter Pascoe is A young well-built College graduate; Andy Dalziel Is extremely corpulent by every measure and very much aging. Pasco is generally optimistic and cheerful; Dalziel is pessimistic and grumpy, to say the least. If Dalziel solves cases at all, it is his almost-reptilian brain that gets the credit. Pascoe, on the other hand, applies real thought and deduction. Opposites they are, and yet, they work well together.
As this book opens, it's Pascoe's wedding day. The guests have gathered and presented their toasts and wished the young couple well. Dalziel is there, too. He begrudges Pascoe’s wife, Elly, and you can safely say he seems to openly dislike her. This wedding has poor Dalziel off balance. He’s going to do something unheard of after the wedding; he’s going on a bit of a vacation himself.
But his car breaks down during a nasty rainstorm, and he never quite makes it to his destination. Instead, he finds himself at a large and somewhat dilapidated house operated by a family who is utterly bizarre any way you want to measure them. As he arrives at their house hoping to obtain lodging, he realizes that one of the women is a new widow. Her husband fell from a ladder with an electric drill in his hand, and the drill was in the on position. It literally drilled holes through the man's ribs and heart as he landed on it. At least that's the story the widow tells Andy Dalziel.
The family is in the midst of setting up a medieval banquet house to pay their bills. But someone is trying to convince the insurance company to hold out on its payment. As a result, the financial status of the bizarre family is precarious at best.
To his credit, Andy Dalziel goes a long way towards solving the case. While doing so, he manages to bed the new widow. She is a large woman of approximately Andy's age.
I feel a lot of ambivalence toward this series. I keep threatening to give it up. But something keeps me coming back. I keep threatening to walk away from the books in the middle, and yet there's something that draws me to them and gives me the impetus I need to finish. I suspect the day will come when I will review book 5 in the series, but probably not for a while. These are not fast-action mysteries. They tend to be more cerebral; naturally, they are very British. But that somehow adds to their peculiar charm. Is this series worth reading? On balance, I'd say it is.
As this book opens, it's Pascoe's wedding day. The guests have gathered and presented their toasts and wished the young couple well. Dalziel is there, too. He begrudges Pascoe’s wife, Elly, and you can safely say he seems to openly dislike her. This wedding has poor Dalziel off balance. He’s going to do something unheard of after the wedding; he’s going on a bit of a vacation himself.
But his car breaks down during a nasty rainstorm, and he never quite makes it to his destination. Instead, he finds himself at a large and somewhat dilapidated house operated by a family who is utterly bizarre any way you want to measure them. As he arrives at their house hoping to obtain lodging, he realizes that one of the women is a new widow. Her husband fell from a ladder with an electric drill in his hand, and the drill was in the on position. It literally drilled holes through the man's ribs and heart as he landed on it. At least that's the story the widow tells Andy Dalziel.
The family is in the midst of setting up a medieval banquet house to pay their bills. But someone is trying to convince the insurance company to hold out on its payment. As a result, the financial status of the bizarre family is precarious at best.
To his credit, Andy Dalziel goes a long way towards solving the case. While doing so, he manages to bed the new widow. She is a large woman of approximately Andy's age.
I feel a lot of ambivalence toward this series. I keep threatening to give it up. But something keeps me coming back. I keep threatening to walk away from the books in the middle, and yet there's something that draws me to them and gives me the impetus I need to finish. I suspect the day will come when I will review book 5 in the series, but probably not for a while. These are not fast-action mysteries. They tend to be more cerebral; naturally, they are very British. But that somehow adds to their peculiar charm. Is this series worth reading? On balance, I'd say it is.
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